Technology Integration: Once an event..now a routine

We've been in school for almost 6 weeks now. It amazes me to see people posting about the first day of school for tomorrow and we are already half way through our first quarter. Teachers have had more technology changes thrown at them this first term than in the past and most have endured with a smile. A few are still trying to grasp the change from clicking on Outlook (a task they have used for years) to click on the Gmail button. We have also moved to Canvas as our LMS. Students are embracing the change quicker than some of the teachers. These are students that are growing up in a technology age and the thought of not keeping up with a paper is exciting to them. I long for the day when BYOT/BYOD becomes every day instead of just a special day. 

The move from technology integration as an event to a routine, starts from the top down. Once that mindset is embraced by the Central Office staff, then it is shared with administration, who share it with teachers, who share it students, who share it with parents. It's a ripple effect that impacts more than we can see. Not every teacher will understand the mindset shift at first, but that is when those that do need to step in and demonstrate how it works. This is also where having a PLN and being a connected educator is important. If you are one of the connected ones, share with others. I still have teachers that ask, SAMR what? Share with your colleagues the knowledge of the model and how to model it for their students. The ocean will always be there, it's not an event. Technology can be compared to the same. 

Created by Sylvia Duckworth

There is a shift in mindset that has to happen for teachers to see how technology is changing. A worksheet on an iPad is still a worksheet. A digital projector used to show a worksheet is jut a fancy new overhead projector. I have found as tech leaders it takes demonstrating to teachers how the new technology can be integrated into their curriculum for them to embrace the change. They have to see it to buy into it, then the next step is using it so they can own it. Students can see it and figure out how to use it within minutes, therefore their step to owning it is quicker. Technology is a life skill. Students today will not know what it was like to call a place, use a paper map, or pass a note in class. If we model that technology is an event, students will see it that way even though life requires it another. They have access to the equipment, let's teach them how to use it. The next Steve Jobs could be sitting in your class and you just told him(or her) to put up that device and get out a pencil.